Fragile by Alexa Weik von Mossner

Author:Alexa Weik von Mossner [Alexa Weik von Mossner]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elzwhere Press
Published: 2023-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

The atmosphere outside felt electric. There was glass on the sidewalk from the broken window of a pharmacy, dozens of Frontline cops swarming around it.

Dan exchanged greetings with some of the cops. “It’s gonna get worse,” he said to Jake. “If the situation doesn’t change real soon, it’s only a question of what’s gonna explode first, Brooklyn or Queens.”

“Probably Brooklyn,” Shavir said.

Dan nodded. “Probably, yes.”

“I’d prefer no explosions at all,” said Jake, the first time he’d said anything to her since Dan’s revelation at the table. “If that’s an option.”

Dan looked sternly at him. “Then something needs to change. I’m telling you as someone who’s literally at the frontline. You can report that to your bosses.”

“We’re doing everything we can, Dan,” Jake said impatiently. “We have improved the antibiotics situation for the hospitals here in Queens, haven’t we? It’d be nice if someone could acknowledge that.”

Dan shrugged, his eyes scanning their surroundings. “I’m just saying that people are pissed, really pissed. They’ve been pissed before, but this time it’s just too many things coming together. It’s a fucking tinderbox. Just strike a match.”

They had reached the station. The goodbye was brief and tense, and then Shavir, Sam, and Jake were in the half-empty train.

Shavir sat down and spent the next ten minutes staring holes into the air as she tried to come up with an answer for the question she knew Jake was formulating.

“Can I ask you what happened?” he finally asked.

Dan hadn’t mentioned any numbers, so Jake didn’t know it hadn’t only been Sam who was with them that day. Perhaps she could buy herself some time.

“I’m sure you’ve seen some Frontline checks?” she asked guardedly. “When they look for the pet registration?” Jake nodded, so she continued. “This happens to me once or twice a day, and sometimes things get nasty. I know Tara doesn’t look it, but she can be fierce if the cops treat her wrong. And Dan’s partner, if I may say so, is an asshole.”

Jake surprised her with a crooked smile. “I know Gary and concur with that assessment.”

She smiled back, grateful for the deflation and hoping he wouldn’t ask her to come home with him. “Were you hurt by what Dan said about SAFE?” she asked.

“No,” Jake said after a long silence. “He’s a good guy, and people are right to be mad.”

“It’s not your fault.” It occurred to her that this might be true.

“Yeah, it is. Who else is gonna fix our supply situation?”

“Maybe nobody can. Not anymore.”

“That’s not an option.”

He didn’t say anything else about the matter, and he still hadn’t asked her to come home with him when they approached Greenpoint.

Shavir disentangled herself from his arms.

“See you tomorrow morning?”

He nodded.

Sam looked at Jake as if expecting him to get up, too, then he followed her out of the car. She turned and lifted one hand before the departing train tore them apart.

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